


And True Love's Kiss

by battleships



Category: The Librarians (TV 2014)
Genre: Ezekiel lied about Peru, Idiots in Love, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining, both think it's unrequited
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-05
Updated: 2016-07-30
Packaged: 2018-07-12 08:31:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7094422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/battleships/pseuds/battleships
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Librarians notice a pattern of young lovers going missing, so they try to set a trap to catch the being responsible. As usual, things don't go quite as planned.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

All his life, Ezekiel had been told that one day his lies were going to bite him in the ass, but he never believed it. He was always too quick for the lie to catch up with, too clever to let it. Not to mention that he’d never stuck around long enough for it to matter. Being a Librarian, working with the others, that wasn’t going to end anytime soon. The lies he had told would eventually catch up to him.

Really, given his current occupation, he should have known it was only a matter of time before he encountered some magic that would force him to tell the truth. That magic being a prison was just evidence that the universe hated him. Thankfully, Cassandra took the brunt of the truth-telling, allowing Ezekiel to just sit there and listen. 

Ezekiel had a feeling Cassandra knew about his fear of prisons, of being locked up, and that was why she kept chattering away with her own truths. Finally when she’d clearly exhausted herself, she looked over at him for help. "Fine," he sighed, "But you have to swear you won't tell anyone else." He watched her until she nodded, "I didn’t leave after Peru because Jake kept ordering me around.” He paused for a moment to consider his words, “Well, that didn’t help. But mostly... without Baird around keeping us on target, I realized some things. I left because I didn't know how to handle it." 

Cassandra's smile quickly morphed into a concerned frown, her mind already running wild with speculations, "What things?" 

"Like... feelings.” Ezekiel said, averting his eyes from hers, “Romantic ones." 

Her hands clasped together in nervousness as she prepared to reveal one of the truths she’d kept to herself. "Oh! Ezekiel, I'm flattered-" 

Later Ezekiel would deny the bright blush that spread across his cheeks. "Not for you!" He blurted, only realizing half a second later how that sounded. "Sorry, I don't mean... You're beautiful, really..." He trailed off, embarrassment rising to a point where he was worried about his voice cracking. 

He was so flustered that Cassandra couldn't help but let out a giggle. "Ezekiel, stop." His jaw shut with an audible click. "Take a breath and try again. If it's not me… is it Jake?" 

Ezekiel's blush reddened. "Yes. Please don't tell him," he asked, trying not to beg. 

The implication that there was even a chance she would out someone, especially to the person they had feelings for, made Cassandra’s heart break a little bit. "I wouldn't do that," Granted, she hadn’t had a chance to tell her own secret so there was no reason for Ezekiel to be sure. 

Sagging in relief, he smiled softly at her. "Thanks. You're really okay with this?" 

She pondered his question for a moment. "Well, I think he's a little old for you." They were only about ten years apart, but that was a fairly significant difference at twenty-four. Even though he was technically an adult, Cassandra viewed Ezekiel as a kid brother and she knew Flynn, Eve, and Jenkins all thought of him as a son ― though none of them would ever admit it, possibly even to themselves. Everyone on the team had forged an unspoken agreement that Ezekiel was to be protected. He was the youngest so they needed to take care of him. 

Maybe Ezekiel didn’t need protecting though. Maybe they all needed to stop seeing him as a kid and start seeing him as a Librarian. 

The slight tremble in Ezekiel’s voice brought Cassandra back to the present. "But no problem with him... Being a he?" Never before had Cassandra seen Ezekiel so nervous, so genuinely scared. Something must have happened in his childhood that caused him to fear coming out on a visceral level. Considering the little they did know of Ezekiel’s life, it was likely horrible. 

It took Cassandra a moment to realize that her concern was written clearly all over her face, so she schooled her expression into a reassuring smile as she moved to sit next to him. "Ezekiel,” she started, making sure her tone was as calming as possible, “I'm a lesbian." Those four words were probably the most relieving words Ezekiel had heard in his entire life. 

Both of them visibly relaxed, and they basked in the comfortable silence between them. Neither was in any hurry to break it, but they both had questions so it was only a matter of time. "Are you..." Cassandra asked, unsure about how to properly phrase her question. Eventually she settled on, "Does anyone else know?" 

"My parents." Ezekiel replied. His voice remained neutral but his face betrayed his emotions. “Well, foster parents. Almost real parents.” 

Even though she was sure she already knew the answer, Cassandra still had to ask: “What happened?” 

The way Ezekiel looked down at his feet told Cassandra that she had been right. “They were going to adopt me until they found me kissing my boyfriend.” He winced at the memory. “They gave me a choice: go to conversion camp or be kicked out. I was only thirteen, but even then I knew I wasn’t straight.” 

Cassandra nodded slowly along with his story. “So you’re…” she trailed off to allow Ezekiel to answer. 

“Bisexual,” Ezekiel replied. “And I knew that wasn’t going to change. So I left. Asked my boyfriend to let me stay with him for a few days and got dumped.” A moment later he laughed bitterly. “I got my envelope two weeks later. Knew it had to be a mistake.” Now that he thought about it though, the Library was offering him safety. Offering him an alternative to growing up on the streets, learning to steal just to get by. 

There were a thousand more questions bouncing around Cassandra’s mind, but before she could ask any more Jake was barreling down the corridor with the trickster behind him. She shared a meaningful look with Ezekiel, hoping he understood that she was promising to keep his secret. With that, the conversation was put to rest. 

As time passed, Cassandra made sure to keep an eye on Ezekiel; she watched him grow into himself, become the hero the Library always knew he could be. After Ezekiel saved them from the video game, the others started noticing too. None of them were really sure that he had actually forgotten, or at least they hoped he hadn’t. Ezekiel had been such a hero, such a badass, that they no longer felt like they needed to take care of him. Sure, they still wanted to take care of him, just like they always wanted to take care of each other, but now they knew he could take care of himself and of them too. They were taking him seriously now. He would always be a younger brother to Cassandra, but he was no longer a kid. 

It wasn’t until they defeated Prospero by reciting the immortal words of William Shakespeare that they all realized Ezekiel definitely remembered. He was a hero, and now everyone knew it. No one brought it up though, no one really knew how. Eve wanted to talk to him, tell him how brave he was, how proud she was of him. Flynn wanted to thank him and apologize for underestimating him so severely. Jenkins didn’t want to say anything, he merely clasped a hand on Ezekiel’s shoulder ― his way of showing affection. 

Cassandra didn’t need to say anything. She’d known about his potential ever since that conversation in the cave. 

Jake though... Jake looked like his entire worldview had been turned on its head. There was a curious look in his eyes as he watched Ezekiel now, like he wanted to say everything and nothing at the same time. He looked at Ezekiel like he had never seen him before, and Cassandra supposed he hadn’t. None of them had seen what kind of hero Ezekiel could be. 

Except they should have known, especially after the apple incident. Ezekiel was already the worst version of himself, the most selfish and chaotic, but even so he had been better than everyone else. If that was the worst version, what was the best version like? Even now, Cassandra found herself wondering about that. Had he already reached his best version? Did he still have more to go? It seemed that they were all wondering that same question. With any luck, they’d all be able to see just how good he can get. 

Each new adventure provided an opportunity for Ezekiel to show his better colors, but the clippings book hadn’t been too active lately. Since Prospero, the large clippings book had been mostly inactive, even the smaller books had been fairly silent. The missions they did bring up were simple, easy for one Librarian to complete on their own. The group fell into a lull, taking a well-deserved vacation. 

The thing about vacations though, is that they have to end eventually. Magical forces were not known for their complacency. So it came as no surprise when the main clippings book started thrashing wildly after weeks of silence. In fact, they had started to get a bit worried by the lack of activity, Flynn especially. He was sure something awful was afoot. 

Turns out he was right. The clippings book rattled aggressively, demanding their attention. “Finally!” Flynn yelled, clearly eager to get back to adventuring. He wasn't the only one, even Eve found herself excitedly gathered around the book with the rest of them. Action and adventure had become part of their lives, they didn’t quite know what to do with themselves without it. After all, they were Librarians. 

The book held articles about missing people, varying in location, age, race, socioeconomic status, etc.) “I can’t see any connection, do you?” Eve remarked, mostly so that the others would start talking. She’d noticed that they work best when they collaborate but also that none of them particularly enjoy volunteering information. 

“Not yet,” Flynn said, practically vibrating in excitement at the prospect of solving a new mystery. 

Cassandra tilted her head slightly as her eyes lit up in understanding. “If you sort the articles chronologically, the disappearances start in eastern Russia and travel west through Europe. It’s not a connection but it gives us an idea of where to look.” 

Trying not to look too much like a proud mama hen (and mostly failing), Eve smiled and nodded. “That’s a good start. Let’s get the back door fired up and check it out. Where’s the next likely location?” 

“They mostly seem to be from major cities and the last was in France, so it looks like Brussels will be next.” Another thought occurred to her as she tracked the trajectory with her hallucinations. “Weird that they avoided Germany though.” 

“Maybe whatever it is was trying to throw people off.” Ezekiel said, “if they went straight through Germany, we might have caught on sooner. And then we wouldn't get to go to Belgium and stock up on chocolate.” He grinned, always needing to pretend he was as shallow as they originally thought him to be. 

As usual, his comment prompted a good natured eye roll from Eve; though Ezekiel couldn't help but notice that while Jake almost always joins her in that, he had stayed uncharacteristically quiet. His eyes remained fixed on the articles, as if he were trying to the pieces together. “You could just use the back door on your own you know,” Jenkins chimed in with his trademark condescension. 

It seemed that Eve had finally noticed Jake’s silence too. “You got something else?” 

Jake hesitated, unsure if his clue actually meant anything. “Maybe,” he started slowly, “I'm not sure if this means anything, but every article mentions that the victims were in love. There are a lot of magical things that prey on love, right?” 

“A succubus!” Flynn and Jenkins shouted in unison. 

The word rang some bells for Eve and she crinkled her eyes a bit, “I thought their whole thing was lust? Don't they…” she paused, not wanting to phrase that the way she normally would after spending nearly her whole life with other soldiers. “Feed on sexual energy? By having sex with their victims?” She felt very maternal towards the Librarianettes and subsequently tried to censor herself as much as possible. Especially around Ezekiel. Another version of her had practically raised that other Ezekiel, and she couldn't help but feel like some of that other Eve’s feelings transferred to her. 

Flynn and Jenkins shared a look before Flynn answered her. “Kind of. Mostly they choose victims that are already in love-” 

“Or have a strong capacity to love,” Jenkins interrupted. Flynn shot him a dirty look. “Right, sorry. Please continue.” 

“Yes so, they choose victims that are already in love or have a strong capacity to love because they can redirect that love towards themselves and feed on it in addition to the sexual energy. It's a major power boost.” 

“But they usually don't need to feed quite so much, this is very troubling.” 

“Could it be a harem?” 

“A harem?” Ezekiel asked, reminding Jenkins and Flynn that they weren't alone. 

Jenkins sighed, “A group of succubi or incubi is referred to as a harem. Like how a group of cows is a herd, a group of lions is a pride, and a group of crows is a murder.” 

Eve could see this conversation going on forever, so she decided to step in. “Okay so we're looking for a… harem of succubi in Brussels. How do we find them? More importantly, how do we stop them?” 

“Stopping them is actually pretty easy. We trap them in this,” Jenkins pulled a Russian nesting doll from a shelf. “Finding them though… We'd need to lure them to finding us. But we’ll need bait.” 

“Eve and I can be bait.” 

“We can?” 

“Can't we?” 

Eve smiled softly, “Yeah, we can.” 

The rest of the team looked at each other, with Jake finally asking he question they were all wondering. “Was that the first time you've said that to each other?” 

Both of them blushed and the others laughed. “How romantic,” Ezekiel said sarcastically. 

“Anyway!” Jenkins called, trying to get them all back on track while Eve and Flynn just smiled at each other. “Those two will go on a date while the rest of you follow them. Please try not to get noticed.” 

Ezekiel rolled his eyes, “I love how much faith you have in us.” Jenkins just smiled sardonically and started up the back door. 

“Take these,” he said, handing out earpiece communicators. “To stay in touch on the mission. They're magical so you don't have shout.” With that, Flynn and Eve went through the back door, the others waiting a minute before following, to make their cover more convincing, 

As Flynn and Eve settled into their date, allowing themselves to get as sappy as possible (and with Flynn, that's pretty sappy) to increase their chances of being spotted by the harem, the trio got into position. They made sure that each of them had a good view of the couple, but also that they were each far enough away so no one would suspect they were together. 

Everything was going quite well, Flynn and Eve were showing how ridiculously in love they both were, except hours passed and they hadn't seemed to catch the attention of any succubi. A lot of Belgians were giving them annoyed looks, but they were all human. “I’m ready to call it.” Eve said through the comms. 

“Agreed,” Jake said. 

Cassandra’s voice came through a moment later, “Uh… Has anyone seen Ezekiel?” She was standing right where he was supposed to have been. 

“You've got to be kidding me,” Eve groaned, disappointment clear in her voice. “He left us during a mission?” 

The light glint of clear plastic caught Cassandra’s eye and she picked Ezekiel’s comm up from the street. “I don't think so.” 

“What, you're saying the succubus took him?” Jake said from behind Cassandra. Flynn and Eve weren't far behind. “Wouldn't he have to be in love with someone for that to happen?” 

Cassandra’s voice was small when she spoke again. “He is.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: suicide mention.

Eve put a comforting hand on Cassandra’s shoulder. “You're sure about this?”

With tears at the corners of her eyes, Cassandra nodded. “He told me in the cave. He didn't say love, but if this happened it must be.” 

“So are you two dating?” Flynn asked, with his usual terrible timing. He received triple glares in response. “I only ask because unrequited love means it might not be a succubus.” 

“It's not me.” Cassandra said, then to keep them from asking who it was she added: “does it count as unrequited if he's never told the person?” Her heart ached to tell the others everything, anything to get Ezekiel back safe, but she knew he would never forgive her if she outed him in the process. 

“We should call Jenkins,” Eve said, already reaching for her phone. 

“Well? Do it!” Jake shouted, eyes wild with fear and impatience, “We're wasting time talking about it when we should be looking for him!” 

While Eve pulled out her phone, Cassandra studied Jake. Sure, she was out of her mind worrying about Ezekiel, but the only time she'd seen Jake this frantic was when Eve had been dying. She hadn’t thought that Jake cared that much. 

Both Jake and Cassandra were so busy worrying they barely noticed when Jenkins picked up. “Did you catch a succubus?” He asked, actually sounding hopeful. 

“It took Ezekiel!” Jake shouted. 

Eve held out her hand to quiet Jake, who bristled but allowed her to continue anyway, knowing that she was just as invested in finding Ezekiel as he was. She was just more level-headed about it. “Flynn thinks it might not be a succubus.” 

After letting out a short curious noise, clearly wanting more information, Jenkins replied, “Well, vampires have been known to use human love to create thralls.” 

“So we're actually looking for a vampire?” Eve asked, trying to get Jenkins to hurry up a bit more. They were far too busy for his usual drawn-out explanations. 

Another short hum came from Jenkin’s end of the phone. “Possibly. Am I to assume our dear Ezekiel has been struck by unrequited love?” 

“That's what we're calling to ask about,” Eve said impatiently, “Does it count as unrequited if he hasn't told the girl?” No one noticed when Cassandra’s lips twitched at the word girl. 

Jenkins paused briefly to think, “I would imagine so. In fact, he would be the perfect thrall. Vampires like to prey on unreturned love - regardless of the reason it isn't being returned - because it causes much stronger devotion. The thrall is too busy being excited that their love is finally being returned to realize the vampire isn't actually the object of their affections. If he’s never confessed his feelings, then he would have hope they would be returned.” 

Already knowing that she was going to hate the answer, Eve bristled and asked, “This vampire tricked Ezekiel into loving her by making him think she’s someone that he's in love with?” 

If Ezekiel were around, Jake knew he'd be groaning and begging them all to stop talking about him being in love. He'd play it off as not being a big deal, all while wearing that kicked puppy expression he thought none of them noticed. 

“That's exactly right, Colonel Baird. Even if it's not a shape shifter, vampires can still hypnotize their victims into believing they are someone else.” He paused, his face falling and voice growing more concerned. “A vampire strong enough to fool a Librarian must be incredibly strong. Loath as a I am to admit it, Mr. Jones was chosen by the Library when he was thirteen. By no means does he possess a weak mind.” 

Growing more impatient by the second, Jake finally interrupted with “What are we waiting for, let’s go kill some vampires.” Every moment they spent talking about how to get Ezekiel back was a moment they were wasting not getting him back. On an intellectual level, Jake knew he was being completely irrational, that Eve knew what she was doing and had run rescue missions before. Even so, he couldn’t stop his heart from racing in fear of losing Ezekiel. He hadn’t even realized until now just how important Ezekiel was to him, and he’d scold himself for that later. For now, he was solely focused on getting Ezekiel back. 

Jenkins sighed again, “Hold on, Cowboy. A vampire this strong won't be able to be killed by normal means. Even Dracula couldn't enthrall Librarians. No, we’ll need a spell to sever the tie between the vampire and the thralls. It would be much easier if we could cure Mr. Jones first but since he's an unrequited thrall we’ll have to do this without him.” 

“There's a way to cure him?” Cassandra asked. 

“No,” Jenkins and Flynn answered together. 

They both paused for a moment before Flynn continued, “Theoretically, he could be cured by true love’s kiss.” 

Allowing herself to fade into the background, Cassandra watched Jake grow more and more frantic. She was starting to wonder if Ezekiel’s affection was, in fact, unrequited. From what she could see, Jake definitely cared a great deal for Ezekiel. Perhaps it was a bit premature for them to discount true love’s kiss as a possible solution. She had to be sure before she said anything, or risk potentially making things so much worse for all of them. 

Jenkins and Eve agreed that despite wanting to go after Ezekiel immediately, they needed to return to the Library and formulate a plan. Jake and Cassandra shared a nervous look, neither of them wanting to risk wasting time but simultaneously knowing that Eve was right. They always had more success when they had a plan to rely on. “We’d better come up with something fast,” Jake growled as they passed through the doorway Jenkins had just opened. 

“Quite true, Mr. Stone,” as usual, Jenkins was waiting right in front of the backdoor when they arrived. Judging from the bookstack on the table behind him, he’d already collected some research material on vampires. “I can’t imagine a vampire would simply turn a Librarian into a thrall; that would be a complete waste of valuable knowledge, not to mention Mr. Jones’s skills as a thief and hacker make him even more valuable. She’ll probably have already started the Turning, which usually takes an average of two days.” 

Simultaneously, Eve, Jake, and Cassandra rounded on him, all of them yelling, “What?” 

They shared a bashful look, Jake and Cassandra backing off to let Eve handle the situation. “Will we still be able to cure him if he’s fully turned?” She asked, her voice filled with concern. 

The look in Jenkins’s eyes told them more than enough, even as Flynn took that moment to answer. “Unfortunately, no. But! Good news,” he quickly continued, brightening considerably, “Strong-willed people have a much better chance at making their turning process last longer.” Looking into Eve’s eyes, he smiled, “I’ve never met anyone as stubborn as Ezekiel Jones.” 

None of them ever thought they’d be relieved to be reminded of Ezekiel’s stubbornness, but it did have a calming effect on most of them. “You’re right,” Eve said, cracking her neck and straightening her posture as she visibly transitioned into Colonel Baird, calm and collected in a crisis. “Two days is more than enough time to draw up and execute a good plan. We’ll get him back.” 

Not having taken her eyes off of Jake since she first began wondering, Cassandra noticed the way his fingers twitched anxiously. She saw the tenseness in his shoulders, the lines caused by his clenched jaw, and she knew that Jake loved Ezekiel. Now all she needed to do was to get Jake to confess, both to her and to Ezekiel. 

“Jake,” Cassandra said quietly, as to not draw the attention of the others, “I need to talk to you for a moment.” 

A hard look had settled in Jake’s eyes, one that scared Cassandra quite a bit. The look wasn’t for her, it was Jake’s anger with the vampire, his determination to get Ezekiel back. Even so, it spoke volumes of what he was willing to do to achieve those goals; from what Cassandra could tell, the list of what he wouldn’t do would be a hell of a lot shorter. “Can it wait?” he just barely avoided a growl this time, “We’re kind of in the middle of something.” 

Soft red curls bounced as she shook her head. “No, it really can’t wait.” She pulled him out of sight of the others, thankfully distracted with planning, before she spoke again. “You’re in love with Ezekiel, aren’t you?” Her tone left no room for argument, not that Jake wouldn’t try. 

Blue eyes shot wide open, a slight blush rising to his cheeks. He opened his mouth to deflect, but she interrupted before he could start. “Don’t lie to me, Jake.” 

In a second, Jake seemed to deflate, all the anger and tension momentarily relieved just from being able to confide in someone for once. “Okay, yeah. I’m in love with him.” 

Her face split into a wide grin, “Jake, this is amazing!” 

“Did you forget the part where he’s in love with someone else?” Jake whispered angrily. 

Musical laughter drifted from her lips, causing Jake to frown deeply in response. “He’s in love with _you_ ,” she hastened to add, not wanting him to think she was laughing at his misery. “You’re in love with _each other_.” 

The words hit Jake far slower than he was proud of, less like a lightbulb turning on and more like a fire being built. He needed to process the information, move around the pieces in his head until they fit properly. “You think true love’s kiss would work.” 

“I’m sure it will. We need to tell the others.” 

A flash of fear crashed over him and he reached out to grab her arm firmly, but only enough to make her look back in concern. “Please… don’t tell them it’s me,” his voice trembled so slightly that Cassandra almost didn’t notice, “I’ve never come out before.” 

After a moment’s hesitation, she nodded solemnly. As much as she believed it to be completely unfounded, she understood his fear. Coming out had been terrifying for her, and it hadn’t turned out well. Even so, she found herself full of confidence that Jenkins, Eve, and Flynn would have no problem with her sexuality, nor with Jake’s or Ezekiel’s. 

She smiled gently at him, “The first time is always the hardest.” His brow furrowed for a moment before recognition dawned on him. “But we don’t have time to talk about this,” she continued, “we need to find a way to stop that vampire and get Ezekiel back.” 

Despite clearly wanting to press further, Jake knew she was right. “Wait,” he said, eyes alight with excitement as an idea formed in his mind, “couldn’t we find Ezekiel the same way we found Santa?” 

“And the vampire would probably be close by...” The light in Jake’s eyes spread to Cassandra’s and they shared a smile, realizing they had the same idea. Simultaneously, they turned to Jenkins, Eve, and Flynn; all of whom immediately looked away in embarrassment, hoping the two wouldn’t notice that they had been staring. 

“Don’t worry,” Jenkins rushed to assure them, “we didn’t hear a thing. Now, may we please resume figuring out how to locate Mr. Jones?” 

Seeing the uneasiness in Jake’s posture, Cassandra spoke up instead. “We can find him the same way we found Santa Claus when the Serpent Brotherhood took him. We just…” she trailed off, realizing the minor flaw in their plan. “Does anyone know how exactly Ezekiel tracked the security camera footage?” 

“Not exactly,” Eve said, her eyes lighting up with hope for the first time since Ezekiel’s disappearance, “But he used software on his computer, which is still here in the Annex.” With that, she spun on her heel to retrieve the laptop. Not even a second after she returned the group crowded around her, barely even giving her enough time to sit down and start the program. Anxiety and tension radiated off of each of them as the program scanned a photo of Ezekiel to search for him. 

Luckily, Ezekiel had been standing across from an ATM during the sting, so they had a clear video of his abduction. The image was barely visible, but they watched anyway while they waited for the program to track him. They watched a young woman in a short floral dress approached him, and for once Eve let out a short laugh, “Was I the only one expecting more Elvira than Taylor Swift?” The others couldn’t help but crack smiles of their own. Until they saw the woman place a hand on Ezekiel’s cheek, staring into his eyes and pressing a chaste kiss to his lips. Then she pulled away, taking his hand in hers before leading him away. 

Jenkins and Flynn felt their hearts stop watching the interaction, sharing a fearful look between them. “This is so much worse than we feared.” 

“How?” Cassandra asked, before Jake or Eve could scream. 

“Normally it takes a good deal of effort to enthrall someone,” Jenkins replied, “anyone, regardless of their strength of will. As I said earlier, it takes a vampire of incredible power to be able to enthrall a Librarian at all,” his voice shook ever so slightly, “but look at her. She doesn’t seem affected at all.” 

The implication hovered over them all, nearly crushing them with its weight. If this vampire was as strong as she seemed, there might not be a way to stop her. “Is it possible that Ezekiel’s feelings are somehow so strong that they made him especially vulnerable?” Eve asked, trying to ignore the sound of her heart breaking for Ezekiel. 

Jenkins paused briefly, a curious expression on his face as he turned to see himself mirrored in Flynn. “It’s possible,” he started. 

“But they’d have to be incredibly strong,” Flynn continued. 

“We’re sure that this isn’t true love?” Jenkins asked, sparing a glance at Jake. 

Heart catching in his throat, Jake shook his head. “No, we’re not sure.” He took a breath to steady himself, gathering the courage to finally embrace what he’d been denying for so long. “Cassandra says I’m the one Ezekiel’s in love with.” His tone held a twinge of disbelief, not because he believed Cassandra would ever lie about something like that; but because he couldn’t quite believe that anyone would love him, let alone someone as fun and exciting as Ezekiel. 

Even if none of his stories were to be believed, Ezekiel still had more experiences in his childhood than Jake had in his entire life. He’d been born in Australia, worked for MI5, was a thief... all before he was twenty-five years old. After all that, why would he want to be with Jake of all people? Jake barely wanted to be with himself. What he did want, he finally realized, was to be with Ezekiel. Now that he knew it was a possibility, he was not going to let it slip through his fingers. “And I’m in love with him.” 

“Finally,” Jenkins sighed, “What?” he asked in response to the glares he received from the group, “Do you want me to pretend to be shocked?” 

“It’s usually considered polite,” Eve replied, her voice strained from both her own surprise and her frustration with Jenkins. Though after a few moments of processing, she realized that she actually wasn’t nearly as surprised as she’d originally believed. 

Unconcerned, Jenkins continued on, “This is good news on every level. It means that while our vampire is much stronger than average, she’s not nearly as much of a threat as I had originally worried. It’s clear that the bond between you two has already begun forming, but with both of you believing your feelings were one-sided, it was fragile and easily controlled.” 

A wave of righteous fury crashed over Jake; the vampire had stolen Ezekiel from them, used his feelings for Jake to take over his mind and to make everything worse, none of this would have happened if either of them had been brave enough to admit their feelings. That would be rectified, Jake swore to himself, he would bring Ezekiel back no matter the cost. 

Thankfully, the computer program beeped to notify them that it had found Ezekiel’s last recorded position before Jake’s anger could build too much. The screen showed security camera footage of him mindlessly following the vampire into a motel room. “Alright,” Eve grinned. “We know where he is and how to get him back. How do we kill the vampire? Wooden stake?” 

“Yes, but a very specific one,” Flynn replied. “I still have the one I used on Dracula, I’ll go grab it.” Without another word, he bolted off into the Library to find it, returning worryingly fast considering he hadn’t noticed the sharpened point was facing him. 

Eve stared at him in terror, “Flynn!” 

“Oh, whoops,” Flynn said, hoping he wouldn’t get into too much trouble. 

Clearly it failed. Eve blinked a few times, “Whoops?” Then she shook her head quickly, “No, we don’t have time. We’ll talk about this after we get Ezekiel back,” before turning back to the rest. Flynn looked around nervously as Jake and Cassandra tried to conceal their amusement. “Jenkins, can you connect the back door to that motel room’s bathroom door?” 

Pausing for a moment, Jenkins nodded, “Certainly, but we won’t know what awaits you inside.” 

The ghost of a confident smile graced Eve’s lips. “That’s okay. She’ll be more surprised than we will. Flynn, you and I will go through first to give Jake cover to break her hold on Ezekiel.” 

“The sudden lack of power from breaking the enthrallment should cause a fairly big shock,” Jenkins added, “So, Mr. Stone, you should try to do that as quickly as possible. Doing so will make killing her much easier.” The casual way Jenkins spoke about the necessity for Jake to kiss Ezekiel brought a blush to his cheeks that the others were, thankfully, gracious enough not to comment. Though Cassandra was smiling a bit too much for his comfort. 

Eve nodded, the corners of her lips turning up with confidence. “Alright, we have a plan. Let’s go kill some vampires.” 

During her time in NATO Eve had learned to expect almost anything, but her heart stopped as she and Flynn entered the room to see Ezekiel pinned to the motel bed by the vampire. Rage bubbled up inside her and she stormed forward. Just as she reached the the vampire, Jake charged through the door too, the same rage filling him as he processed what was happening. Blonde curls hit the wall as Eve ripped the vampire away from Ezekiel, only for her to disappear into a cloud of dust, reappearing behind Flynn. 

Jake wanted to follow her, wanted to hurt her for what she had done, but he knew he had to help Ezekiel instead. Before he could get close though, Ezekiel grabbed a knife from the bedside table. “If you hurt Nina, I’ll kill myself.” 

If Eve’s heart had stopped from seeing the vampire, Nina, taking advantage of Ezekiel, seeing Ezekiel threaten suicide ripped her - and Jake’s - heart in half. Noticing that he had left the underside of his wrist exposed, Jake raised his hands as if in surrender, “I’m sorry in advance,” He said as he thrust his hand out to jab at Ezekiel’s wrist quickly, forcing him to drop the knife. While he was disarmed, Jake grabbed one of his wrists and used his other hand to wrap around the back of his head, pulling him in for a kiss. 

“Jake?” Ezekiel’s voice was small, his mind foggy from coming out of the spell. 

Sagging in relief, Jake pressed his forehead against Ezekiel’s, “Ezekiel, I love you. I’m so sorry I was too scared to tell you sooner.” 

Eyes widened in shock, “For real?” Ezekiel asked, his voice trembling in fear. 

He chuckled deeply, “For real.” 

Ezekiel felt his heart soaring, bringing his hand up to rest on Jake’s cheek, “I love you too.” 

Just as they closed their eyes to bask in the moment, Nina teleported behind Ezekiel, pulling him away from Jake. She grazed his neck with her fangs, not quite hard enough to break skin, but causing him to shiver, “I wanted to keep you around, but I guess we’ll just have to see if you can overcome the bloodlust.” Her mouth opened wide and she sunk her fangs into his neck, making Ezekiel cry out in surprise and in pain as she did. 

“Flynn!” Ezekiel gasped, barely able to force the words out as she drank deeply, “Stake!” Hoping that his aim and Ezekiel’s catching skills were good enough, Flynn threw the stake at Ezekiel who managed to catch it. He stabbed the stake into her side, using her momentary surprise to turn around and stab her through the heart. Trembling from adrenaline and blood loss, Ezekiel stumbled back against the bed as he watched Nina fall to a pile of dust on the floor. 

Noticing his weakness, Eve and Jake hoisted him up to rush him back to the Annex, where they found that Jenkins had the foresight to be standing by with a first aid kit. “He didn’t lose enough blood to need a transfusion,” Jenkins said with a deep sigh after quickly checking him over, “So once I bandage him up, we’ll just need to make sure he stays hydrated. And no exerting yourself,” he added as he secured sterile gauze over the wound, looking Ezekiel in the eyes before briefly glancing at Jake, causing both men to blush brightly. 

Ezekiel laughed weakly, “No promises, Jenkins.” Even though neither he nor Jake had any intention of… exerting themselves. His response was so quintessentially Ezekiel that Jake couldn’t help but laugh, shaking his head. 

“Never change, Jones,” Eve said, a wide smile on her face. “As relieved as I am to see you safe, I think we should give you two some time to talk.” 

The others nodded in agreement and fled the room, except for Cassandra, who gave them both a grin and a big hug. “I told you,” she said as she pulled away before leaving the room herself. 

Once the everyone had left, Ezekiel turned to Jake with a grin, “So, I guess I can assume you brought me back with true love’s kiss, right?” 

Jake was momentarily taken aback, “How did you know?” 

“Well, you were kissing me when I came to my senses” Ezekiel said, letting out a laugh of his own. “It just took me a few seconds to put two and two together. But maybe we should do it again, just to make sure.” 

Sometimes it was easy to forget how clever Ezekiel was, he did such a good job of deflecting and hiding it, but nothing made Jake happier than to see behind the mask. His smile widened as he sat down next to him, “Yeah,” Jake grinned, “just to make sure.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry it took me so long to update! You're all superstars for being so patient with me and I really hope this was worth it.


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